The Women’s Resource Center at Sacramento State will be hanging up t-shirts near the west steps of the State Capitol Saturday, Oct. 7 around 6 p.m.

Women who have survived assault, rape and incest design these t-shirts. Others who know someone who has suffered from that sort of abuse can also make the shirts. Pat Grady, Director of the Women’s Resource Center, will set up the booth.

Grady said that the hanging t-shirts are there to break the myth of keeping these crimes under wraps.

A sort of rebellion against the thought “don’t hang your dirty laundry,” said Grady.

CSUS Women’s Resource Center started participating in The Clothesline Project two years ago. The shirts are free to decorate but participants may keep theirs if they really want it said Grady.

Each t-shirt is made by first selecting a color. White t-shirts represents women who were murdered, yellow or beige are for women who have been battered or assaulted, blue or green are for women who are survivors of incest or child sexual abuse, and purple or lavender are for women attacked because they are or were perceived to be lesbian.

“These shirts express someone’s experience” said Grady.

The Women’s Resource Center provides the magic markers, paint, and other supplies to decorate with.

The Clothesline Project began in 1990 when the members of the Cape Cod Women’s Agenda hung a clothesline across the village green in Hyannis, Massachusetts with 31 shirts designed by survivors of assault, rape and incest. Viewers of the first clothesline came forward creating their own shirts. The line kept growing. The Project has grown to over 300 local Clothesline Projects both nationally and internationally.

There are an estimated 35,000 shirts. The Project has become a resource to those who have undergone hardships to heal and help to create a social change.

The Clothesline Project puts a human face on the statistics of violence against violence. It also increases awareness of violence against women. It celebrates a woman’s strength to survive and provides an avenue to courageously break the silence.

The Women’s Resource Center is in Lassen Hall, Room 3000 (third floor). To contact Pat Grady please call 278-7388.